Introducing Diveplane: Why the World Needs Responsible AI

Today, I joined Marissa Mayer on the main stage at Fortune Brainstorm Tech [Video | Photos] to discuss the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on humanity. What a privilege to represent the team at Diveplane, and the groundbreaking approach to AI that we’ve built. Our mission is simple, but crucial: to keep the humanity in AI, through understandable AI technologies and responsible application of AI. We’ve been in stealth mode for the last year, and today marks the first time we’ve publicly discussed Diveplane and the new reality of understandable AI.

Our story actually starts seven years ago — my co-founders, Dr. Chris Hazard and Mike Resnick owned and operated a boutique tech consultancy focused on defense and intelligence applications. Chris kept noticing recurring issues in machine learning systems and devised an ambitious plan to address those limitations. Chris has a breadth and depth of expertise that is rarely seen — with experience in multiple disciplines from psychology, to gaming, government defense work, robotics, trust, reputation, and privacy law. I’ve been lucky to work with some darned smart people in my time, but never have I met an innovation engine like Chris.

Chris and I have been friends for years. We share a healthy excitement for, and paranoia about, our ever more technology-driven society. I’d give him occasional strategic advice on his company’s business, usually in exchange for beer. But he always had to carefully avoid talking about his technology and clients, given his company’s defense focus. Last year, he briefed me on the technology, and once my jaw came off the floor I started dreaming about the massive, world-wide impact it could have on safer computing.

Now, I ran Epic Games for a decade, which is just as amazing as you’d think it is. Overseeing the creation of projects like Gears of War, Unreal Tournament, and Fortnite is about as good as it gets. The only reason to leave a role like that, when we were on top of the industry, was to have a family. (And wow, I thought I left on top, but those guys have taken it to new heights.)

I’d been a happily retired stay-at-home dad for a few years. But once I realized the potential of the tech, I knew I couldn’t responsibly sit this one out. So I drew up a plan with Chris and Mike, and convinced them I was the person who could make it happen.

Introducing Diveplane – the World’s First Understandable AI System

Most companies today are either already using some form of machine learning to make business decisions, or will soon. But the state of the art today is still Black Box AI. At Diveplane, we started with the belief that there was another way, and we’ve proven there is.

Last December, I reached out to friends and family to raise $2M, and we oversubscribed at $3.5M within a week. Today we have a dozen pilot projects across a variety of industries — from NASCAR racing simulations, to medical and insurance providers improving quality patient care, to venture capital decision support, to agricultural science discovery and drone training. We expect to double our team of more than 15 employees in Raleigh, North Carolina, in anticipation of fully opening the doors to customers later this year.

Please contact us if you’d like to learn more about career opportunities, or at if you are interested in what Diveplane’s responsible and understandable AI can do for your organization.

We hope you’ll join us on the journey to maximize the potential for responsible AI and create a future we want our children to live in.